Jan and the Mysterious Stranger:
A Story about Devils Peak
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Illustrated by
Robyn van ZijlRobyn van Zijl
Long, long ago, at the foot of a tall
mountain called Windberg, very close to
Table Mountain there lived a man called Jan
van Hunks.
Jan was a big, friendly man. His favourite
thing to do was to smoke his pipe. He loved
to smoke it every day, sitting in his cozy
little home, puffing out clouds of smoke
that swirled around him like magic.
But Jans wife didnt share his love for his
pipe. "Jan, you smoke too much! I can
hardly breathe with all that smoke inside
the house!" she would say.
So, Jan would smile and say, "Dont worry,
dear. I’ll go outside to smoke." And off he
would go, walking up the hill to the
mountain's slopes, where the wind would
carry the smoke away into the sky.
One day, while Jan was sitting on the
mountain, happily puffing on his pipe, he
noticed a strange man standing nearby.
The man looked very mysterious – he wore
a dark cloak and held a pipe just like Jans.
Ah, another pipe smoker,” Jan thought.
“Perhaps we can enjoy our pipes together?
The strange man turned to Jan and said, “I
see you love to smoke your pipe too. But I
bet you cant smoke as much as I can. I’m
the best pipe smoker in the world!”
Jan, being proud of his pipe-smoking skills,
puffed out his chest. “Oh, really? I can
smoke with the best men! Lets see who can
make the biggest cloud of smoke.
And so, the two men began to smoke. They puffed
and puffed, each trying to outdo the other. The
smoke grew thicker and thicker, swirling around
them like a storm. Soon, the entire mountain was
covered in smoke, and the wind carried it high into
the sky.
The smoke was so thick that it turned into a huge
cloud, so big that it seemed to cover the whole
mountain, turning the sky into a blanket of fog
and completely covering Table Mountain too.
Jan kept puffing away, determined to win the
contest. After a while, he started to feel very
tired. The strange man didnt seem tired at all. He
just kept puffing and puffing.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, Jan gave
one last, mighty puff of smoke, just as the strange
man stopped.
“I win!” Jan cried out, feeling proud.
The strange man smiled mysteriously and
said, “You may have won the contest, but I
am not just any man. I am the Devil, and I
will take my leave now.
With that, the mysterious man vanished,
leaving Jan sitting alone on the mountain.
The smoke slowly began to clear, and Jan
realized something incredible had
happened. The smoke had formed a giant
cloud over the top of the mountain, which
stayed there, floating like a tablecloth,
even on the clearest of days.
The mountain was forever known as Devils
Peak, because of the mysterious contest
between Jan van Hunks and the Devil.
Jan returned home, but from that day on,
every time he looked at the mountain, he
remembered the strange contest and the
giant cloud that hung over the peak. He
learned that sometimes, its not always wise
to brag or compete too much, for the
consequences could be quite strange – and
very smoky!